2010 YANKEES HOT-STOVE THREAD

I too will miss da Melk Man. But the writing was on the wall when they acquired Granderson that either Melky or Gardner were gone. They did good. Vazquez is basically being asked to be a 3 or 4. And he has something to prove. The one good arm they gave up was Vizcaino. I saw him throw here and he can hit 92-93. But he's only 19. With guys like McAllister, Kontos and De La Rosa in the system, they're fine. Regarding LF, either Damon will come down and re-sign like A-Rod. Perhaps 2 yrs, 21-22 M. Or they can just sign Mark De Rosa. A local kid who was a Yankee fan growing up and a jack of all trades. He would be perfect.

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"The greatest trick Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Hasan, Brian and I blog at New York Puck. Devils, Islanders, Rangers and Sabres.

Replacement Level takes a great look at how much value Damon would add to the team if they were to re-sign him. I'd love a $5-7M 1 year deal like them but apparently Cashman has said they have $2M left (not sure if that is after they re-sign Hairston since rumors have him likely to come back).

Edited by thefiestygoat, 12 January 2010 - 05:58 PM.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

Winn is a solid pick up for the bench and a decent gamble by Cashman in my opinion. It's unlikely he repeats 2007 or 2008 offensively, but he should be better than his 2009. Projections before the signing: Bill James (95 wRC+), CHONE (84 wRC+), Marcel (98 wRC+), Fans (91 wRC+). Fine for an extra OFer. Though his offensive output isn't all that important for his role. It appears he has decent speed on the basepaths and is a plus defender in the outfield corners with a strong arm. In 2009, 54 games in LF 7.9 UZR, 104 games in RF 9.6 UZR, 2009 all OF 16.5 UZR, and is a plus defender for his career in LF and RF according to UZR. His WAR projections coming into the day: CHONE (.8, value $3.6M) and Fans (1.7, value of $7.5M). Plus he is more durable. and perhaps cheaper, than options like Reed Johnson or Rocco Baldelli. Plus he is a more secure option for this spot than the unproven Jamie Hoffmann.

I don't understand why so many people are freaking out about signing Winn...it's not like he is here to start, he's fine in a bench role. I'll miss Damon but for the money he wants, it was the right move to walk away, plus he is due to start regressing.

From Bob Klapisch's twitter earlier tonight:

"On Dec 17, we were told not to make an offer for a penny less than $13 million a year for two years. Boras told me I wouldn't find a No. 2 hitter for less than $13 million. I found one for half that (Nick Johnson)." -Brian Cashman

I give Cashman an A for this off-season. The Vazquez and Granderson trades were great and picking up Johnson without spending a ton was a very solid move. I loved Matsui and Damon but it was the right time to go in another direction. I feel like the team got better this off-season, can't wait for the season to start.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

I don't understand why so many people are freaking out about signing Winn...it's not like he is here to start, he's fine in a bench role. I'll miss Damon but for the money he wants, it was the right move to walk away, plus he is due to start regressing.

I'm about 90% sure he's going to platoon in left with Gardner, which means he should start somewhere between 60-90 games in LF.

And the signing is fine for the Yankees, since they get better defensively and quicker, which is a lot of what Cashman and (probably) Girardi wanted. I think Winn's OPS will be acceptable in left field for the Yankees, if for no other reason than opposing pitchers will have to pitch to SOMEONE in that lineup, and Winn will see some juicy cuts batting 9th with Jeter following him.